The Teachers Syndicate submitted a memorandum to the Parliament, addressed to various blocs, committees, and representatives, demanding the amendment of the financial gap law to include the funds of syndicates and their funds, with a particular focus on teachers’ funds.
The syndicate clarified that this move comes from its trade union and ethical responsibility towards working and retired teachers, especially those who received their compensation after 2019 and whose compensation suffered a significant decrease in its real value. In addition, it pointed to the retired professors whose salaries became between “20 and 30 dollars per month” after about forty years of service in the education sector, in light of the unprecedented financial crisis that has plagued Lebanon and its institutions.
In the context of preparations for the discussion of the financial gap law, the syndicate stressed the importance of this step in order to regulate the financial responsibilities resulting from the economic collapse since 2019, and called for amending the project to cover the funds of the compensation fund for members of the teaching staff in private schools, which incurred losses exceeding “800 million US dollars” of the total funds available in the fund before the crisis.
It also called for the inclusion of the losses of the teachers’ mutual fund in the law, which are estimated at about “4 million dollars”, recalling that these funds are not commercial or investment institutions, but were established to ensure retirement and preserve the dignity of old age for thousands of teachers who have served Lebanon for decades.
The syndicate believes that excluding these funds from the financial gap law constitutes a grave injustice to a segment exhausted by the crisis, and is inconsistent with the principle of justice that should govern any legislative treatment. It pointed out that the funds of compensation, retirement and mutual support funds are acquired rights protected under the Lebanese constitution, especially “Article 15”, which guarantees the protection of private property and not to prejudice it except for the public benefit and in accordance with the conditions of justice and fair compensation.
It stressed that these funds are not commercial investments or voluntary risks, but are the result of mandatory deductions from teachers’ salaries over the years, considering that any legislation that ignores the inclusion of their losses or treats them with unfair standards is a violation of the principle of protecting acquired rights and the principle of equality before the law and social justice.
The syndicate linked the teachers’ right to recover their funds to the principle of social security enshrined in the preamble of the constitution, which obliges the state to achieve social justice and ensure the necessities of a decent life, stressing that prejudice to these funds or their exclusion from any legislative treatment of the financial crisis unfairly burdens a fundamental educational group with the cost of the collapse.
The syndicate concluded by appealing to the parliamentary committees, blocs and representatives to work to amend the law before its final approval, in a way that guarantees the recovery of educational and trade union funds according to their actual value, in Lebanese pounds or dollars, to protect the rights of teachers and their educational role in building generations.
